Category Archives: Coleoptera

Beetles. The largest order of animals with more than 300,000 species in about 2000 genera.

Winter Botany Quiz #6 – answers and a checklist

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I thought yesterday’s Winter Botany Quiz #6 would be a fairly difficult, and given the apparent difficulty of my previous quizes (Pismire Puzzle and Tuesday Teaser) I thought I’d give readers a break this week and narrow down the location to the Lake Tahoe area. … Continue reading →

Posted in Coleoptera, Rosaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Lampetis drummondi larva?

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Back in February, I learned that Mark Volkovitsh (Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg) would be visiting Chuck Bellamy (California Department of Food and Agriculture) in Sacramento the very week that I was planning to be in Lake Tahoe. … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

North America’s largest jewel beetle

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

In recent weeks I’ve featured a few jewel beetles that I have encountered amongst specimens sent to me for identification (see “Aaack!-maeodera” and “Acmaeodera carlota in northern Arizona“).  While the new distributions and even unknown species that they represent are fascinating from … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Acmaeodera carlota in northern Arizona

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

This is another of the interesting species that I encountered during my examination of material submitted for identification this past winter.  Acmaeodera carlota is one of 149 species/subspecies in North America belonging to this very difficult genus (recall my recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Buprestidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Tiger Beetle Aggregation

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Not long ago, I received an interesting series of photographs from Joe Warfel, a nature photographer and macro specialist based in Massachussetts.  Joe traveled to Arizona last July, where he photographed an aggregation of Cicindela (Cicindelidia) sedecimpuntata (Western Red-bellied Tiger … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Monday Ménage – Brachyleptura rubrica

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

This mating pair of longhorned beetles represents Brachyleptura rubrica, one of several so-called “flower longhorns” (including the rare Typocerus deceptus) that I saw on flowers of Hydrangea arborescens last June at Trail of Tears State Park in southeastern Missouri.  Flower … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Alkali Tiger Beetle

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I haven’t written much about my early October trip to Oklahoma, where I had hoped to confirm a hunch that the gorgeous Cicindela pulchra (Beautiful Tiger Beetle) would be found in the red clay/gypsum hill habitats of Woodward and Major … Continue reading →

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Who am I?

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

What is my name? Where do I live? Who do I hang with? Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2010 Email to a friend

Posted in Cicindelidae, Coleoptera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments